1. Most of the meeting dates and places for 2012 have been scheduled in. Here’s what developed so far:
· Saturday, May 19, 2012, field day. Time: 1:00 pm. Charles Crites’ bee yard. See note below.
· Saturday, July 21, 2012, 9:30 am. Fond du Lac Public Library, 32 Sheboygan Street, Fond du Lac, WI. Downstairs in the Eugene McLane Room.
· September meeting to be determined. (I’m trying to schedule Sept. 8 in Ripon.)
2. Charles Crites has been generous enough to share his beekeeping operation with us. He has been keeping bees in top bar hives. This will be an excellent opportunity to view firsthand how top bar hives are managed. The address is N6039 Esterbrook Road, Fond du Lac. Here are the driving directions: From State Highway 23 west of Fond du Lac, turn south on to Esterbrook Road (by the Hyundai auto dealership). Drive south on Esterbrook to address. Charles has two driveways – he asks that you use the driveway located 100 feet north of the fire number. There is plenty of room in that lot for parking. The field day this year will be a rain or shine event, there will not be a rain date.
3. A new ECWBA e-mail address has been established. All e-mail correspondence directed to the ECWBA can be sent to: ecwbeekeepers@yahoo.com .
Beekeeping Notes:
· Queens! If you plan to split surviving colonies, develop a plan for additional queens – Are you going to purchase queens? Are you going to raise your own queens?
· This is the time for early season disease and mite control applications. If you use any type of treatments, now is the time to prepare and apply those treatments.
· With the early onset of spring and hence, an earlier than normal brood build up, be ready to add supers to provide plenty of room for the increased bee populations.
Best of Beekeeping,
Jeff Champeau
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